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Tony Pearson is a Master Inventor and Senior IT Architect for the IBM Storage product line at the
IBM Executive Briefing Center in Tucson Arizona, and featured contributor
to IBM's developerWorks. In 2016, Tony celebrates his 30th year anniversary with IBM Storage. He is
author of the Inside System Storage series of books. This blog is for the open exchange of ideas relating to storage and storage networking hardware, software and services.
(Short URL for this blog: ibm.co/Pearson )

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It's that time again. Every year, IBM hosts the "System Storage Technical University". I have been going to these since they first started in the 1990s. This time we are at the lovely [Hilton Orlando] in Orlando, Florida.

For those who want to relive past events, here are my blog posts from this event in 2010:

As was the case last year, IBM once again will run this conference alongside the [IBM System x Technical University] the same week, in the same hotel. This allows attendees to cross over to the other side to see a few sessions of the other conference. I took advantage of this last year, and plan to do so again this year as well!

For those on Twitter, you can follow my tweets at [@az990tony] or search on the hash tag #ibmtechu.

Did IBM XIV force EMC's hand to announce VMAXe? Let's take a stroll down memory lane.

In 2008, IBM XIV showed the world that it could ship a Tier-1, high-end, enterprise-class system using commodity parts. Technically, prior to its acquisition by IBM, the XIV team had boxes out in production since 2005. EMC incorrectly argued this announcement meant the death of the IBM DS8000. Just because EMC was unable to figure out how to have more than one high-end disk product, doesn't mean IBM or other storage vendors were equally challenged. Both IBM XIV and DS8000 are Tier-1, high-end, enterprise-class storage systems, as are the IBM N series N7900 and the IBM Scale-Out Network Attached Storage (SONAS).

In April 2009, EMC followed IBM's lead with their own V-Max system, based on Symmetrix Engenuity code, but on commodity x86 processors. Nobody at EMC suggested that the V-Max meant the death of their other Symmetrix box, the DMX-4, which means that EMC proved to themselves that a storage vendor could offer multiple high-end disk systems. Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) would later offer the VSP, which also includes some commodity hardware as well.

In July 2009, analysts at International Technology Group published their TCO findings that IBM XIV was 63 percent less expensive than EMC V-Max, in a whitepaper titled [COST/BENEFIT CASE
FOR IBM XIV STORAGE SYSTEM Comparing Costs for IBM XIV and EMC V-Max Systems]. Not surprisingly, EMC cried foul, feeling that EMC V-Max had not yet been successful in the field, it was too soon to compare newly minted EMC gear with a mature product like XIV that had been in production accounts for several years. Big companies like to wait for "Generation 1" of any new product to mature a bit before they purchase.

To compete against IBM XIV's very low TCO, EMC was forced to either deeply discount their Symmetrix, or counter-offer with lower-cost CLARiiON, their midrange disk offering. An ex-EMCer that now works for IBM on the XIV sales team put it in EMC terms -- "the IBM XIV provides a Symmetrix-like product at CLARiiON-like prices."

(Note: Somewhere in 2010, EMC dropped the hyphen, changing the name from V-Max to VMAX. I didn't see this formally announced anywhere, but it seems that the new spelling is the officially correct usage. A common marketing rule is that you should only rename failed products, so perhaps dropping the hyphen was EMC's way of preventing people from searching older reviews of the V-Max product.)

This month, IBM introduced the IBM XIV Gen3 model 114. The analysts at ITG updated their analysis, as there are now more customers that have either or both products, to provide a more thorough comparison. Their latest whitepaper, titled [Cost/Benefit Case for IBM XIV Systems: Comparing Cost
Structures for IBM XIV and EMC VMAX Systems], shows that IBM maintains its substantial cost savings advantage, representing 69 percent less Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) than EMC, on average, over the course of three years.

In response, EMC announced its new VMAXe, following the naming convention EMC established for VNX and VNXe. Customers cannot upgrade VNXe to VNX, nor VMAXe to VMAX, so at least EMC was consistent in that regard. Like the IBM XIV and XIV Gen3, the new EMC VMAXe eliminated "unnecessary distractions" like CKD volumes and FICON attachment needed for the IBM z/OS operating system on IBM System z mainframes. Fellow blogger Barry Burke from EMC explains everything about the VMAXe in his blog post [a big thing in a small package].

So, you have to wonder, did IBM XIV force EMC's hand into offering this new VMAXe storage unit? Surely, EMC sales reps will continue to lead with the more profitable DMX-4 or VMAX, and then only offer the VMAXe when the prospective customer mentions that the IBM XIV Gen3 is 69 percent less expensive. I haven't seen any list or street prices for the VMAXe yet, but I suspect it is less expensive than VMAX, on a dollar-per-GB basis, so that EMC will not have to discount it as much to compete against IBM.

The new [IBM System Storage Tape Controller 3592 Model C07] is an upgrade to the previous C06 controller. Like the C06, the new 3592-C07 can have up to four FICON (4Gbps) ports, four FC ports, and connect up to 16 drives. The difference is that the C07 supports 8Gbps speed FC ports, and can support the [new TS1140 tape drives that were announced on May 9]. A cool feature of the C07 is that it has a built-in library manager function for the mainframe. On the previous models, you had to have a separate library manager server.

Crossroads ReadVerify Appliance (3222-RV1)

IBM has entered an agreement to resell [Crossroads ReadVerify Appliance], or "RV1" for short. The RV1 is a 1U-high server with software that gathers information on the utilization, performance and health for a physical tape environment, such as an IBM TS3500 Tape Library. The RV1 also offers a feature called "ArchiveVerify" which validates long-term retention archive tapes, providing an audit trail on the readability of tape media. This can be useful for tape libraries attached behind IBM Information Archive compliance storage solution, or the IBM Scale-Out Network Attached Storage (SONAS).

As an added bonus, Crossroads has great videos! Here's one, titled [Tape Sticks]

While the hardware is all refreshed, the overall "scale-out" architecture is unchanged. Kudos to the XIV development team for designing a system that is based entirely on commodity hardware, allowing new hardware generations to be introduced with minimal changes to the vast number of field-proven software features like thin provisioning, space-efficient read-only and writeable snapshots, synchronous and asynchronous mirroring, and Quality of Service (QoS) performance classes.

The new XIV Gen3 features an Infiniband interconnect, faster 8Gbps FC ports, more iSCSI ports, faster motherboard and processors, SAS-NL 2TB drives, 24GB cache memory per XIV module, all in a single frame IBM rack that supports the IBM Rear Door Heat Exchanger. The results are a 2x to 4x boost in performance for various workloads. Here are some example performance comparisons:

Disclaimer: Performance is based on measurements and projections using standard IBM benchmarks in a controlled environment. The actual throughput that any user will experience will vary depending upon considerations such as the amount of multiprogramming in the user's job stream, the I/O configuration, the storage configuration, and the workload processed. Therefore, no assurance can be given that an individual user will achieve throughput improvements equivalent to the performance ratios stated here. Your mileage may vary.

In a Statement of Direction, IBM also has designed the Gen3 modules to be "SSD-ready" which means that you can insert up to 500GB of Solid-State drive capacity per XIV module, up to 7.5TB in a fully-configured 15 module frame. This SSD would act as an extension of DRAM cache, similar to how Performance Accelerator Modules (PAM) on IBM N series.

IBM will continue to sell XIV Gen2 systems for the next 12-18 months, as some clients like the smaller 1TB disk drives. The new Gen3 only comes with 2TB drives. There are some clients that love the XIV so much, that they also use it for less stringent Tier 2 workloads. If you don't need the blazing speed of the new Gen3, perhaps the lower cost XIV Gen2 might be a great fit!

As if I haven't said this enough times already, the IBM XIV is a Tier-1, high-end, enterprise-class disk storage system, optimized for use with mission critical workloads on Linux, UNIX and Windows operating systems, and is the ideal cost-effective replacement for EMC Symmetrix VMAX, HDS USP-V and VSP, and HP P9000 series disk systems, . Like the XIV Gen2, the XIV Gen3 can be used with IBM System i using VIOS, and with IBM System z mainframes running Linux, z/VM or z/VSE. If you run z/OS or z/TPF with Count-Key-Data (CKD) volumes and FICON attachment, go with the IBM System Storage DS8000 instead, IBM's other high-end disk system.

Friday - We landed in Paris, France. I have been to Paris many times, but this was a first for Mo. A croissant cost only 2 Euro, but the young woman behind the counter gave me a look of disgust when I asked for a knife and butter to put on the croissant. If you ever get the chance to have a real French croissant, you will realize you don't need any more butter. If you do attempt to put anything on the croissant, it will disintegrate into a million tiny pieces!

2. Visit Ronda

Saturday - We rented a car and drove to the mountain village of [Ronda, Spain], which is in the heart of the region of Spain called Andalucia. Why Ronda? This was where Mo's uncle was stationed during the war. The town is built on two mountains, connected by a set of bridges. The tallest is "Puente Nuevo", built in the 1700s, which is nearly 400 feet tall. Ronda is also home of Spain's oldest Bull Fighting ring. Bars and restaurants built along the cliff offer some spectacular views. Mo and I shared a "Paella Mixta" for lunch, consisting of yellow rice with bits of chicken and seafood.

3. Soak in European Mineral Waters

Sunday - Most things in Europe are closed on Sunday, so we decided to have a "Spa Day" at the [Gran Hotel Benahavis], in Benahavis, Spain. This lovely hotel is built over a natural mineral waters hot spring, and an underground spa allowed us to relax in the warmth. The spa also had a dry sauna, steam sauna, and ice cold water bath to complete the experience.

4. Climb to the Top of the Rock of Gibraltar

Monday - Technically, Gibraltar is a separate country, but they use British money (Pound Sterling). To get to the top of the rock, we drove across their airport runway, saw the mosque at Point Europa, parked in large parking lot and took the cable car to the top. From there, we climbed a few more steps to see the grand views of Spain and North Africa, while keeping our distance from the infamous monkeys. These [Barbary Macaque] are cute, but can bite or scratch you if you get too close. Afterwards, we had lunch in a pub called the Angry Friar.

5. See Snake Charmers in Morocco

Tuesday - We took a guided tour over to the Kingdom of Morocco. This included a ferry boat ride from Tarifa, Spain to Tangier, Morocco. A bus then took us to the "Kasbah" (the fort), where we got to see snake charmers perform their act. We had an interesting lunch, followed by obligatory "shopping opportunities" for rugs and spices. Back on the bus, we went to a place to go ride camels, see the King's palace, and visit the the Grotto of Hercules. The last stop was to sit back and relax for a nice cup of hot Menthol Tea at Cap Spartel, the northernmost point of Morocco.

6. Hang Out at a Mediterranean Beach

Wednesday - Our last full day in Spain, we decided to have lunch on the beach. This region is referred to as Costa Del Sol. We opted for "Playa de la Rada" in Estepona, Spain. The beach was a bit rocky, the sand was hot and uncomfortable to walk on, and the heat and humidity was just slightly less than the steam sauna at the Gran Hotel Benahavis. We stayed in the shade of our beach-side restaurant and had a lunch of grilled sardines and the local Cruzcampo beer.

7. Visit the World of Coca-Cola

Thursday - we drove to Malaga, Spain, and flew back to the United States. Malaga is famous for celebrities like Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picaso. We could not get all the way back to Tucson, so we stayed overnight in Atlanta.

Friday - This gave us an opportunity to visit the [World of Coca-Cola], where Mo's cousin had done some recent marketing work in celebration of their 125 year anniversary. This is a museum with a live bottling operation on display, a 4D movie, viewing areas to see commercials from around the world, and free tasting, sampling some of the 105 different soft drink flavors manufactured. I recommend the Tawney Ginger from Tanzania, and the Simba Guarana from Brazil. I did not care for the Apple-and-Carrot soda from Japan.

8. See a Manta Ray Up Close

Our discount combo tickets included a visit to the [Georgia Aquarium] next door. Mo can't scuba-dive, but she got stung by a ray when she was a kid, and wanted to show me a big Manta Ray up close. The aquarium was quite good, divided up into separate exhibits, including interactive touch-the-fish areas for the kids, Beluga whales, Jellyfish, Seahorses, and a moving sidewalk that takes you underneath the sea life.

I would like to thank Delta Air Lines for letting Mo and I take this trip using frequent flyer miles, Hertz Rental Cars for offering a sweet deal on a tiny Hyundai i20 car, the Gran Hotel Benahavis for their hospitality, and the incredibly warm and helpful people of Atlanta. I am glad that my language skills in French, Spanish and Arabic came in quite handy!